The most helpful favourable review

The most helpful critical review

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 starsWelcome to The Rock.
The Rock is directed by Michael Bay and written by David Weisberg, Douglas Cook & Mark Rosner. It stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, David Morse, William Forsythe & Michael Biehn.

When a highly decorated army general (Harris) decides that he's had enough of his men dying, and not getting the credit they deserve; he commandeers Alcatraz prison with a...

3.0 out of 5 starsWhy flip?
Don't get me wrong. I love this film. I think it is one of the best action films out there. If I were just reviewing the film, it would have to be 4 or 5 stars. But this is the DVD. Where the best film is totally ruined by the film being double sided. Flipping half-way through, when the tension is building, is one of the worst ideas I have seen. Admittedly, the quality of...

The Rock is directed by Michael Bay and written by David Weisberg, Douglas Cook & Mark Rosner. It stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, David Morse, William Forsythe & Michael Biehn.

When a highly decorated army general (Harris) decides that he's had enough of his men dying, and not getting the credit they deserve; he commandeers Alcatraz prison with a crack unit of Mercs. The plan is to hold the government to ransom or unleash from the prison biological rockets to bring Armageddon down on America. Enter chemical weapons expert Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Cage), who is forced to team up with the only man ever to escape Alcatraz-the mysteriously incarcerated in secret John Patrick Mason (Connery)-to break into the Rock and thwart the plans of the Mercs.

So Cage as a chemistry expert who possible holds the fate of the world in his shaky hands? Connery, aged 66, as a tough prison escapee sporting a "Grunge" haircut? And Ed Harris, surely a bastion of patriotic Americana, turning bad and wanting to unleash hell on the Stars & Stripes? To expect nothing else but a berserker Michael Bayhem picture based on these facts is surely folly? He certainly has a varied CV does Bay, as do the leading actors on show here. But when on form, with writers prepared to put blood into the characters, Bay can deliver high octane entertainment if it features a cast clearly in tune with the material. Such is the case here. It's no award winner. Naturally. But it does have some political smarts in the script. And if you want explosions, shoot outs and quips aplenty? Then this really will serve you well for a couple of hours. 7.5/10

Cast.Sean Connery as Captain John Patrick Mason, SAS (Ret.)Nicolas Cage as FBI Special Agent Dr. Stanley GoodspeedEd Harris as Brigadier General Francis X. HummelJohn Spencer as FBI Director James WomackDavid Morse as Major Tom BaxterWilliam Forsythe as FBI Special Agent in Charge and head of San Francisco field office Ernest PaxtonMichael Biehn as Commander AndersonDanny Nucci as Lieutenant ShephardVanessa Marcil as Carla PestalozziGregory Sporleder as Captain FryeJohn C. McGinley as Captain HendrixTony Todd as Captain DarrowClaire Forlani as Jade AngelouBokeem Woodbine as Sergeant CrispSteve Harris as Private McCoyJim Maniaci as Private ScarpettiBrendan Kelly as Private Cox

Box Office.Budget $75 millionBox Office Gross $335,062,621

Trivia.1)Sean Connery insisted the producers build a cabin for him on Alcatraz as he didn't want to travel from the mainland to the island every day; he got what he asked for.2)Quentin Tarantino was an uncredited screenwriter on this film, along with Jonathan Hensleigh who wrote the shooting script.3)Some of the Navy SEALs in the film were played by real Navy SEALS.4)Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the Mason role, but turned it down, he stated he regretted not taking the role, however, he still got to play a part as a convict with a mysterious past in Escape Plan (2013).5)According to Michael Bay the script was written much more straight & serious than the final film. Most of the humorous moments & lines were improvised during filming.6)In the scene in the interrogation room where FBI agent Stanley Goodspeed introduces himself to John Mason, John replies "But of course you are". This was exactly the same line he used when he met Plenty O'Toole in the casino scene in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are Forever.7)Sean Connery (Mason) says he was trained by British intelligence, like his old character James Bond.8)Dedicated to producer Don Simpson, who died during production.9)This movie marks the 3rd time that actor Michael Biehn has played a Navy SEAL. The first was in The Abyss (1989) while the second was in Navy Seals (1990).10)Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais provided an uncredited re-write of Sean Connery's dialogue.11)Body Count: 2512)This is the first time The Rock has had a full uncut UK release.

What's The Story?The safety of San Francisco hangs in the balance when General Francis X. Hummel & his renegade squad of US Marines take over the abandoned Alcatraz prison & threaten to launch a poison gas attack on the city if their demands are not met.

The FBI's response is to call in Stanley Goodspeed, a nerdy weapons expert & John Patrick Mason, a former SAS man who was the only man to escape Alcatraz & was eventually carrested & has been in prison for the last 30 years.

Goodspeed & Mason are sent into Alcatraz prison complex with the Navy Seals in a bid to prevent mass murder & save the residents of San Francisco.

Timelord Thoughts.In 2014 everybody knows what to expect from a Michael Bay movie, fast cutting, relentless action, 360 degree swirling camera angles but back in 1996 Bay had only Bad Boys to his CV & with his second movie director Michael Bay delivers a excellent action movie that sees former James Bond, Sean Connery back doing what he does best - kicking ass.

The Rock sees the character of John Mason released after 30 years of incarceration aid a Navy Seals team to break into Alcatraz as Mason is the only man to have escaped from there many year's ago, also along for the ride is Stanley Goodspeed a chemical weapons expert who hopefully deactivate the weapon if need be & aid the Seals in stopping a former group of soldiers turned mercenaries from launching a chemical weapon attack on the US.

Sean Connery is excellent in the John Mason role giving the character a enigmatic nature who has a certain cool & calmness that allows Mason to have this air of mystery about him which hasn't been seen in a Connery film for ages & he certainly remembers his training as James Bond as Connery gets involved in many of the films gritty action sequences.

Nicholas Cage wasn't well known for action movies at the time of making this film but is brilliant cast as nerdy chemical engineer Stanley Goodspeed that seems taylor made character for Cage who shares such a great chemistry with Connery as the duo bicker & wisecrack to eventually relying on each other to survive Alcatraz.

Ed Harris I felt is the films weak link although this has nothing to do with Harris performance, there just isn't enough anger or rage to his character of Brigadier General Francis X Hummel who seemingly doesn't want to go through with launching the rocket on San Francisco, this character should've been the movie's main protagonist & been a dangerous threat & advisory to Mason & Goodspeed which sadly doesn't happen so in the end the film has no real villian which I felt it desperately needed.

The dialogue is sharp & witty including some cool one liners pulled off with great aplomb by Connery & Cage, while the script is decent & engaging enough for a action movie which doesn't require any pause for thought, just switch your brain off & go with it.

Producers, Jerry Bruckheimer & the late Don Simpson certainly got the best out there director on this movie as Michael Bay simply throws everything at the screen from fistfights, shootouts, explosions, car chases complete with 360 degree swirling camera angles & MTV fast cutting directs with a visual flare & passion, but it would help a little if Bay didn't feel the need to use his MTV style cutting in every action sequence it becomes at times nauseating, this type of filmmaking would become Bay's trademark visual style of directing action films known as Bay's action porn sequences but at least he gets the most out of the movie's $75 million dollar budget as every penny is up on screen.

No Blu-ray extras on this release but the film is completely uncut for the first time in the UK including Mason throwing the machete into a bad guys throat quoting "You must never hesitate" plus a few more impact shots & blood here & there, while the picture & sound quality is much more improved on Blu-ray compared to the last DVD release as is a far clearer & sharper looking image now complete with crystal clear sound remastering.

Overall, The Rock is a excellent entertaining fast paced action extravaganza & a wonderful switch your brain off & relax type of movie, while Connery & Cage prove to be an excellent double act & inject all the right ingredients into making this become a solid action classic.

This is without doubt one of the best 'action' films of the '90's' .A team of ex-army mercenairies led by a 'u.s' war hero 'General Francis X Hummel' ( played by 'Ed Harris') steal 'rocket launchers' and 'misiles' along with a deadly chemical to load.The group take over 'Alcatraz' from where they hold 'San Francisco to ransom.The military cheifs on the mainland assemble a 'crack' team to over-power the mercenairies and rescue the '81' hostages held, 'Nicholas Cage' plays the part of a chemical weapons' specialist 'Stanley Goodspeed'( F.B.I ) joins the team to hopefully disarm the misiles, because a full-on assault would be suicide the military chiefs approach an ex-S.A.S. officer 'John Patrick Mason' ( played by 'Sean Connery') who is years on still considered 'dangerous' , however being the only prisoner to have ever escaped from 'Alcatraz' he possesses special knowledge of 'the rock' he is offered his freedom for his assistance.This is still a brilliant 'action' film which includes a 'superb' car-chase sequence, and great action and suspense on 'The Rock'Is the film made in the mid-'90's' worth buying on 'blu-ray' ?Well, technology has moved on considerably since the making of this film.The transfer is in truth not the best, the visual defenition is obviously considerably enhanced, but not nearly as good as more recent transfer's, the 'audio' again is not as sharp as you might expect from more recent productions, however somewhat sharperthan on 'DVD'The overall effect is enhanced and i am glad to have it in my 'Bu-ray' collection.The bottom line is, it is a very good film, well worth revisiting or maybe watching for the first time.

Well, based on the other review on Amazon, as well as a couple more elsewhere, I purchased The Rock on DVD last week. It had been my favourite film for a good few years after watching it shortly after it's release. Good story, stong and convincing characters played by Connery, Cage and Harris and a generally great action packed film. I then noticed Amazon's 3 for 2 on selected BluRay discs. Well, I wasn't sure what to buy. But after watching The Rock again I decided I wanted to give it a go, and see if the difference really was poor. In the end, I'd say no. It's a great improvement on the DVD Much clearer visually and the sound is also much better. I'd recommend buying this on BluRay, as it's a fantastic film, and I believe there is a marked improvement on the DVD, which is now going to a friend.

I watched it on my 26" Sony Bravia KDL26P3020U - via my Playstation 3 (HDMI) set to 1080i (although at this size, there's no difference between 1080i and 720p)

Set in America on Alcatraz (Once a famous prison on an island off Mainland USA from which is said no-one escaped from. No one that is apart from Sean Connery, an secret Agent once working for British Secret Service who DID escape from Alcatraz and has been incarcerated. Now his services are required to get young FBI agent played by Nicholas Cage onto the Island, save hostages and stopa lunatic soldiers from destroying through chemical welfare many tens of thousands of innocentsby special FBI agent with Chemical Warfare expertise. Various twists throughout this fast moving story. I've seen it four timesand still love it.

Don't get me wrong. I love this film. I think it is one of the best action films out there. If I were just reviewing the film, it would have to be 4 or 5 stars. But this is the DVD. Where the best film is totally ruined by the film being double sided. Flipping half-way through, when the tension is building, is one of the worst ideas I have seen. Admittedly, the quality of the remastering is superb, but why on two sides? Much longer films (eg. Heat) fit entirely on one side. Stick to VHS for this brilliant film, the DVD will leave you too disapointed.

OK, it's not the best film that Simpson Bruckheimer and Bay, have produced. However, The Rock is still cool. It is interesting to see Nic Cage start on his path as action hero, and to see Sean Connery reprise his role of 007, (Isn't that the sort of mission 007 would have been sent on? Think about it, and the dates mentioned, what was connery acting in at the time?) As with all the films that have digitally mastered on the cover, the picture is exceptional. I would have wanted more Bass in my explosions though, and the 5.1 soundtrack is not used to it's full potential. The film is still well worth it's purchase price, well done Amazon.I would say that there are absolutely no extras though, when will the studios realise that we don't want to have to flip our disk half way through, and the reason we convert to DVD is for the additional information DVD provides. DVD is the format for the film buff and the studios should look at the extras provided on the JAWS special edition as an example of true value for money. Anyway enough moaning, if you liked The Rock at the cinema buy it, but not for any extras......

This is a great film for that Friday night with a beer, pizza and a few friends. Embittered Army General Ed Harris has pinched a few nasty chemical warheads and has holed up on Alcatraz with them, threatening to launch them on San Francisco if the American Government does not meet his demands. Nicholas Cage is the amiable FBI chemicals expert tasked with defusing them. Sean Connery is the FBI's dirty secret, an Englishman held secretly in jail, who happens to be the only man to have escaped from Alcatraz, and is Cage's only hope of getting in.

Directed with vigour by Michael Bay, and featuring a talented cast who get right into the spirit of things, this is an enjoyable romp. With plenty of big stunts, gun fights, explosions, thrills and spills along the way it's big and loud and a lot of fun.

Presented in widescreen with a decent 5.1 surround sound, the only extra is a disposable commentary. However, this is a decent budget release of a great non-stop action thriller. Highly recommended.

I have watched this film both in the cinema and on its DVD release and find myself enjoying it each time. Sean Connery can limit himself due to his accent but in this film he meets all expectations. Both funny and tragic, it is Nicolas Cage who comes across as the new boy on the block but with or without expectations he still manages to meet the heroic demands of his character. Highly enjoyable with the American military coming across as there usual over the top movie type soldiers while the SAS Connery is the street wise kid from Glasgow (or more accurately Edinburgh) who just kills the bad guys in a more efficient way. As we Brits in the military really do of course.

Bedfore Michael Bay took on asteroids and giant robots he directed two mid nineties action films that raised the game for the genre, Bad Boysband The Rock.

Badboys wad a kind of nineties Beverley Hills Cop, which is not a coincidence sine super producer Jerry Bruckheimer was behind both, whilst the rock gives a new twist on the hostage/terrorist takeover movies that hit cinemas in the wake of Diehard (another game changer for action fans).

Bay comes from the frentic music video style of direction, and style is what he is all about, he litterly took up the mantle from late great Tony Scott in fast action, fast editing and massive amounts of slow motion, all glossed in well lit heavy rainfall or golden sun lit skys.

The Rock is arguably Bays best film.

An adult action thriller, made better by an all star cast (most of the support actors are well known TV or film faces).

The three main leads Connery as grizzled convict, Cage as nerdy scientist and Harris as noble Marine General with a grudge against U.S goverment absolutely deliver in terms of making each character sympathetic and believable.

Harris and his team of marines take the 'Rock' and a bunch of tourists hostage demanding millions of dollars for former fallan comrades or he will rdlease Nerve gas rockets onto San Francisco kiling millions.

Cage is the super chemichal freak called into access the Island with a guard team of Navy seals and Connery's former inmate to make use of hi intimate knowledge of the facility.

Cue lots of jokey bickering between the nerd scientist and hardened (older James Bond); as they face off against the marines and try to find the nerve gas rockets.

Full of explosions, gun shoot outs,and an epic car chase this is a well scripted, well acted action fest that ranks amongst the best made.

It does sometimes get a little to gung ho and caught up in machoism but for the most part is an intelligent blockbuster ful of memorable scenes.